29 gallon freshwater tank with fluval C4 fliter, heater set on about 76 degrees
I put in 3 x-ray pristella to start with, added Microbacter 7 every day. Put ammonia wheel in.
10 days later my numbers were all good, meaning 0 ammonia, nitrites, and of course 0 nitrates.

So I add on day 10 5 neon tetra. 7 days later, by numbers are still great.

So on day 18 of the cycling process I added 2 honey gourami.

I also was doing weekly 15% water changes during this time also. Still doing Microbacter7 seven everyday. All the fish were doing great

Nitrites still were at 0 until day 30 of the cycling process. Then they were at .5 using the API test kit. The fish were all acting great, though. So I did a little bigger water change and started using Prime to make sure the nitrites didn't hurt my fish. LFS guys say to leave it alone let the process happen , just continue to use Prime and Microbacter7 until nitrites get back to 0.

My reading tells me that I still should be doing 15% water changes every other days during this cycling time also. I'm trying to not overfeed, but I'm sure I have as I'm new to this and want to make sure every gets enough.
Would someone let me know how I'm doing with my cycling this tank? I'm glad I haven't lost any fish.

Oh my PH is about 7.2. I use RO water, but the RO water has a PH of 6.0. So I added a little Alkaline buffer. I don't like doing chemicals,but 6.0 is too low isn't it for tetras and honey gourami?

I'm not familiar with Microbacter 7 but it seems similar to a product I have used before called Bio-Spira. It establishes beneficial bacteria in your tank very quickly. You will know your tank is cycled when your Ammonia and Nitrite are both at zero and you start seeing a nitrate reading. You may need to test your tap water to see if it has nitrate present in it to begin with. What type of test kit are you using? I also wouldn't add any more fish until you are sure the tank is cycled.

I'm suing the jungle strips and API testing kit. So the progression that I mentioned above seems normal? Have you experienced the same type timeline?

I have had timelines all over the place with cycling. I have cycled a tank overnight with pre-established filter media and I have had it take 3 to 4 weeks with pre-established filter media. It really is a waiting and testing game. The liquid API kits are good but the reason I asked is that the nitrate test can get complicated and the directiones need to be followed closely to make sure you get more accurate readings. Have you seen any nitrates show up yet?

The fact that you have gone so long and have seen nitrite tells me that you probably have beneficial bacteria present converting ammonia to nitrite. That is the first step (although I am surprised you don't seem to have ever seen ammonia spike). Now you just need to make sure the next process which converts nitrite to nitrate is happening.

Thanks, I'll watch for nitrates. Will my nitrites go down to 0 before I start seeing nitrates.

Understand that the cycling process requires a lot of patience, time and testing. It sounds like you are doing great so far you are already into the second phase so to say. It looks like your ammonia is being turned into nitrite and from what your tests are reading you are just having a small spike. I would stop feeding for a day or two, keep using prime and keep up on small water changes. You are doing very with the process from what I can see just keep testing and keep things in check, once you start to see Nitrates you are home free to say...but keep checking your water afterwords to see what kind of schedule you need to keep.

You should start seeing small amounts of nitrate first then your nitrites will drop to zero all of a sudden.

Then when nitrites go to 0 and nitrates elevate, just regular maintenance keeps them from getting too high?

Regular water changes keep the nitrate levels in check.

Yep, after you see nitRATES and 0 ammonia and 0 nitRITES that means your cycle is now converting both to nitRATES which is what you want. Just be careful cause your tank is still new and not conditioned. Keeping your nitRATES under 40ppm is going to be ideal, once nitRATES get much higher than this is how you will measure your tanks pollution level. Keeping nitRATES low will help you maintain a clean healthy enviroment for your fish and will keep ammonia and nitrite spikes in check.

Thanks MostlyCichlids. That makes sense to me!!

No worries glad to help keep up the good work and don't be afraid to ask or start new threads with new questions if any arise!